The two made no move to attack at all, yet the tension crackled between them like electricity. Joking in any form were washed away and replaced with pure somberness, Keelan's grip on his spear visibly tightened while Brindon had his hand slowly inching towards one of his arrows.

And in one snap, the pace of the fight rocketed through the roof like a patient under cardiac arrest. Hearts lept to throats as Keelan's spear was thrown forward and Brindon's arrow simultaneously shot off in unbelievable speed. Yet, despite this, both managed to evade the other's attack in time.

Brindon was light on his feet when he vaulted to his right to avoid Keelan's spear, rolling on the ground deftly. He immediately had his ammunition ready the moment he was upright and was firing two to three of them at the same time in three, succeeding moments.

The eleventh-ranker jumped, leaning away from the arrows' course and avoiding them by hair's breath. His long legs carried him forward as Brindon moved to meet him as well, his fingers expertly nocking arrows and shooting them off a split second later.

Keelan was bombarded by a shower of Brindon's attacks, all which he avoided expertly by maneuvering past each one. The first three he got past by throwing himself in the air in a precedented flip and the next two by suddenly pulling himself close to the ground as soon as his foot landed. Keelan then somersaulted and landed way behind his opponent, his hands wounding around the shaft of his spear and pulling the blade free from the ground. In a matter of seconds, he was back to his first stance. The previous atmosphere settled back into the scene. The only difference had been their positions.

They swapped places.

"Holy shiznits." Valeriana found herself clapping at the fast-paced duel and the beautiful way they responded to each other's assaults. She was not alone in that as well. The audience went still with awe.

"This is what I call a Grand Opening!" Tamara exclaimed.

That was not the end, however.

They took a short few seconds to breathe from each other's riposte. Afterwards, Keelan took his moment to run forward once again for his attack.

Brindon responded by setting off the arrow he had been aiming since a while ago, forcing Keelan to wave his spear forward with one hand to cut off the object in motion. He split it in half without much problem, his grass-green eyes narrowing as they made contact with warm, chocolate brown ones void of any emotion.

"Good job!" Keelan yelled to his opponent with his smile as though they were merely playing a game.

"Good." The other agreed.

Not only did the Denovegasian young lord display great flexibility, but his response time was astoundingly impressive. Brindon's agility and speed was inhuman . . . as odd as that sounded. Perhaps it could be invalemnian but Valeriana was unsure about the average speed of any Valemnian. Even then, these two were sure far from the basic level. If they weren't, they wouldn't be a part of the Twelve.

The eleventh brought down the blade of his spear to make a sharp swipe on the twelfth. Brindon was quick to respond by twirling out of the way, his hand magically pulling out a small knife from nowhere to intercept the incoming weapon.

Keelan pulled back only to strike once again using the blunt end. Brindon shut it out using the guard on his left arm while his right hand caught the shaft. The twelfth-ranker maintained this grip and his poker-face as he exchanged glances with his enemy.

The eleventh grinned at him, tugging on his weapon as though saying it was his and not the eleventh's to take.

"My weapon." Keelan mouthed to him before driving his leg down to hit Brindon's shin in an attempt to make him let go.

The other registered this almost instinctively that he blocked with his foot, forcing the two of them in a test of both balance and power.

Brindon's free hand with the small knife flew forward above the spear which sat between them, straight for his nose, but Keelan retorted by moving his head out of the way and grabbing his wrist at the same time then twisting it so that the blade fell off.

They were neck and neck in a stalemate that neither of them moved for a whole minute.

"Haha. What the hell." Aneeka laughed as she clapped, watching them locked in some sort of position.

"Let go." Brindon told him.

"You first."

"No. You."

"Uh-uh. No way."

Sweat trickled down their brows, their breaths puffing out mists in the air--eyes locked and teeth gritted. Keelan forced more power into taking back his weapon from Brindon's grip, but the latter would not let him. His action merely made the spear twirl in a circle. To accomodate this movement, their hands twisted into a pretzel to which their body followed to force them both back into a more comfortable position.

Like dancing cha-cha.

It was unsure how long their hands remained in a deadlock on Keelan's weapon, but their feet were dancing and so were their free hands. One to attack the other and the other to respond with another.

This was literally what you would call close combat. Brindon refused to let go and Keelan was desperately finding a way to shake him off.

"Look at them go." Elfre whistled.

"It is like they're only dancing." Raziel smiled.

"Denovegasians are very hands-on so it isn't much of a surprise both of them are very adept on martial arts." Charles commented. "I shall wait when they start to use their elements. That is usually the more interesting part in a battle. Though Keelan must be having a hard trying to read Brindon since his poker-face is . . . irremovable."

"By the name of the Earthian god!" Keelan pulled himself back only to have Brindon follow, their foots waltzing. As if to agitate him further, Brindon imitated his actions and forced him to follow his movements.

Left with no choice but to make a big move, the eleventh kicked his feet high up in the air, targeting his co-ranker on the face. Brindon brought his arm up to shield himself, making him lose one grip on the shaft but his other hand remained firm. Seeing it worked, Keelan brought down his foot with a knowing smile. The twelfth brought his hand back to its usual position, his eyes narrowing at him.

One leg up, right against left. Next leg up, left against right.

Brindon was forced to occasionally remove his hold to block the incoming assaults. But just as one hand would protect himself, the other would secure a grip around the spear so that he wouldn't have to let go completely. It was a speedy dance and Keelan's legs were accurately targeting the common weak points on someone's body. The twelfth had been able to deflect them so far.

"Give me back my spear please!" Keelan whined under his breath. "We've been at this for a few minutes now . . ."

"No."

What was next? Where would he strike? Would he use his left or right foot to attack? Would he use his hands?

In an electrifying moment, the strawberry-blonde brought his whole body flying. He twisted like a ball midair before suddenly stretching out both his feet, kicking the other boy at the chest that it sent him falling backwards.

The brunette's back hit a tall rock and his vision blackened for a moment at the impact. He crashed on the foliage that it sent leaves flying everywhere and looked up just in time to see that his enemy was gone, nowhere to be seen.

He tipped his head back further as he felt a presence shift above him and, behold, Keelan was aiming at him like a predator right on top of the rock he was leaning on. Just as his spear came rushing to his face, he rolled out of the way.

"Told ya!" Keelan's smile flashed as bright as a torch in the dark.

"How did he do that?" Valeriana was in awe. "He disappeared so suddenly when I blinked . . ."

"When hunting," Corvan began. "You have to be so quiet yet so swift to the point that your prey won't know where you are and when you'll attack. Keelan's family and everyone in his continent lives off of hunted animals and foraged fruits in the wild. They're trained to hunt."

Brindon shot three arrows his way to keep him busy for a while as he took cover further into the artificial environment that was created. There was a thick line of trees and plants where he would not easily be seen.

Keelan nimbly either dodged or cut off Brindon's arrows as he walked forward to chase his opponent, however, he was gone the next moment save for his afterimage running into the thick cover of trees.

"Aw." The strawberry-blonde wallowed in his slowness compared to Brindon's speed and he sprung forward like a deer to go after him.

The spectators were left in wonder as they could not see what was happening inside the fake, mini-forest. Whatever kind of battle would transpire, it was a sure thing it was a big miss to those who could not see. After all, things were just heating up.

Keelan stopped before the trees, knowing all too well that if Brindon masked his presence well, he would be put to a disadvantage not knowing exactly where his opponent was. As a trained hunter, he despised being the one in the position of a prey. He was supposed to overpower and not be overpowered, to be the one to sneak and not the one to be snuck on. Just being in this sort of position made him hesitate, and quite frankly, it made him unsure whether he should really go inside. His instincts told him not to.

Even so, this was a challenge and he could not very well let him escape. He trusted his instincts more than anything like a blind mole with its nose.

A blind mole.

As a bright idea snapped in place, Keelan shifted his foot that his stance widened. He then bent down and crouched into a Tarzan-like position before his palm grazed the earth beneath him. The soil was soft and crumbled easily against his fingertips, but it did not bother him--for he was a beloved child of the earth, and the earth was his greatest back-up.

He tapped into his element, tugging on his innate connection with it and reverently asking it to provide him with its usual guidance. It retaliated to him by miniscule vibrations, allowing him to see his surroundings without direct perception. His connection with the element was deep. It gave him a glimpse of the searing hot lava that flowed beneath the crust, the movement of the plates in all sorts of motion. With the waves travelling the ground, it gave him a feel of all the objects connected to it and because of this did he finally know where Brindon was.

He lifted his chin just in time to see an arrow headed his way. His hand shot out just in time to catch it midair. And though this was supposed to unnerve him, his smile widened instead and he pounced his way into the forest.

"It does makes sense for him to use the Seismic Detection method in locating his prey." Rowe spoke, nodding his head in agreement. "But it would be better if he was to not wear any shoes. His connection with the earth would be stronger then."

"His shoes are not ordinary." Charles was squinting when he said this. "With the long proximity of our distances, it is hard to see his full gear, but his shoes and the ground are only separated by a thin piece of Ensequon leather."

"Ensequon leather?" Tamara and Valeriana simultaneously spoke.

"The Enseqoun leather's made to not hinder the connection between an earth-wielder and the earth itself. Wearing it is as good as not wearing any shoes at all."

"So what's the use of wearing it?" Tamara inquired, unable to comprehend the logic behind it.

"For protection, of course." Raziel pointed out. "And a little bit of fashion does not hurt."

Looking at Keelan's older brother, Eres, it was unclear whether he was impressed with the way his younger brother was faring. He did not clap when the audience did nor did he scream when they did. Of course, he wasn't expected to do the screaming portion or the cheering part, but he hardly reacted. He did wave a hello to Keelan before the fight started, but they had a feeling he wouldn't have done it if Keelan didn't see him and waved at him first.

Two shadows chased each other between the trees. The silhouettes had been mildly visible, and Valeriana's ability to sense auras had enabled her to pinpoint their location somewhat. Even so, their movements were fast that made it hard for her to keep up.

Valeriana's azure blue eyes would flicker towards the top of the tree when her senses would pick up on a flare of presence there, but she would be too late to actually catch them through sight.

It seemed as though they were chimps or gorillas swinging from tree to tree, leaping down momentarily to touch the ground only to jump again and climb back up. It was a confusing dance between the two, but it was not short of entertaining.

Brindon and Keelan capable of these maneuvers? It was astounding.

They would sometimes hear the sound of metal clashing against metal. And true to this, the exchange of attacks between the two was not short of exciting.

Keelan expertly used the cover of trees to hide from Brindon's arrows, but the swift fingers of his co-ranker proved hard to fight against. At times, he would find himself missing the arrow by just a milimeter, once or twice it grazed his skin and cut off some hair.

Just as he was working his way down a tree, another one came his way. He had been hanging off a branch so he pulled himself up and opened the gap between his legs to make a new path for the arrow to take, but then another practically pinned his hand against the tree and so he had to swing away and land abruptly on the ground.

"That almost got me!"

Feeling a bit tired of having to evade arrows, he dashed forward bravely and slashed his spear at Brindon. The tip had nicked his armor, forcing him to step back and put some distance between the two of them.

Brindon's speed made him resemble a fleeting leaf in the wind. So difficult to chase. Just when you would think he was in your reach, he would move unexpectedly and fly farther.

It was frustrating.

Yet, Keelan was not about to give up. If Brindon was the leaf in the wind, he would just have to be the wall to block it.

Calling on to his mightiest will, he shall make the earth move.

Valeriana leaned on her palm as a sharp clang reverberated. An arrow came flying out of the arena and shot straight for the audience's seat. Screams echoed, but the arrow was safely deflected by a person from hitting an innocent bystander.

The one who moved to counter the stray arrow had been Emmett from the knightly group of the top Celestes.

Cool.

What exactly was going on in there?

As if to answer her question, the ground shook that shocked and panicked shrieks echoed. Cracks rose to eat away on the walls and the trembles disturbed the current atmosphere. Tamara cursed in her seat while the others reacted calmly to the suddenness.

"Lemme guess." Valeriana held on to her seat. "Is this Keelan making the ground as soft as cotton?"

"I don't care what it is! It just ruined my day!" Tamara exclaimed. "I mean, I was seriously on the verge of falling asleep!"

"Did you really have to say that aloud?" Rowe patiently smiled at his seatmate.

A huge pillar rose from the ground inside the arena, carrying a figure with it. It parted the trees and uprooted them partially to the point that their roots could be seen. After it reached a certain height towards the sky, the poor figure came flying off as though vomitted and speedily came falling if it werent for a flower-shaped rock coming to catch him and break his fall.

It was Brindon.

Keelan appeared standing on his own pillar as the previous one sunk down to restore itself to its usual position. It was a lot taller than where Brindon's stood, making him look like had had the upper hand at the moment.

Yet he lost his spear.

"Whoa whoa. They're using their elements now! How exciting!" Someone exclaimed, though they were unsure who did.

The twelfth-ranker rose to his feet, his movements a bit sloppy. After being carried off to the sky and almost falling to his death, he must've sustained a few injuries. The thing that caught him wasn't soft at all, but it must've been the safest option during that time.

"Now, I'm sort of worried for those two." Elfre muttered.

"Can you still do it?!" Keelan yelled over the distance.

"I can." Brindon said a little too softly his lips barely formed the words.

The smaller boy balled his hands into a fist and stepped forward a little too heavily that the ground shook with his step. They all felt the weight on his foot as he pulled up his arms as though lifting up a barbell weighing tons.

The biggest chunk of rocks flew up in response to his actions, making Valeriana's eyes widen at the sight. It was like watching a floating castle with all the pieces hanging by thin air.

Without further ado, these rocks all came at Keelan at once. He made no move to stop the chunks coming at him, letting them enclose him into a tight ball, slowly crushing him under the force and weight.

It was so strong as visually perceived that even the rocks themselves crumbled to pieces and formed cracks on their bodies.

And Keelan?

He couldn't have succumbed to that attack that easily, right? How was he going to get out of there though?

"How in the world is--"

Gasps rang in the air as the strawberry-blonde appeared behind Brindon. The latter froze as he felt the presence behind him, his eyes widening a very small fraction it was hardly noticeable.

His poker-face was hardly shaken and he reacted fast, his body twisting to meet his opponent.

However, it was a bit too late as Keelan already had him flying for the second time. His long legs flying from the ground to push-kick the guy somewhere around his upper back.

Valeriana was sure she heard a crack when his foot made contact. Though, it could've been her imagination working wonders when watching something like this.

Poor Brindon getting thrown all over the place like a doll. He seemed a bit more fragile just then it actually made Valeriana cringe away from the sight of him.

Yet, he still managed to fire an arrow accurately from that position. The object came zooming straight for Keelan, who was caught off guard he barely registered having the tip cutting through his clothes. It buried itself a few inches deep into his skin, past the layer of cloth.

The aim was perfect. It got between the gap of his vert-colored armor and straight for his flesh. It was the joining point of his torso and right arm.

It was sort of shocking how things ended this way.

In spite of being able to successfully land an arrow on his enemy, Brindon's move had been costly. He focused on his opponent too much he was unable to stop himself from landing straight to the rock-strewn floor. He hit and rolled and painfully skidded that his body got twisted into an awkward angle.

"Oh my god." The girls gawked.

"How--what in the world of Valemnia!"

Keelan, taken aback, held the shaft of the arrow and pulled it out without even the smallest cry. His teeth were gritted at that point and he vacillated on his feet, his movements horribly unbalanced he actually fell off himself.

"Oh crap." Tamara muttered, staring wide-eyed at the scenario. She then stood up and started screaming her throats out. "KEELAN! BRINDON! YOU GUYS SHOULD BE ALRIGHT!"

"Of course they'll be alright." Charles said this, but his tone suggested a little doubt. "Their armors have shock absorbers and are well-made. By looking at the design, the shape and the size . . . I should be correct."

Keelan landed noisily on the ground, his back hitting it first. He bounced once and rolled to his stomach. The Denovegasian lord stayed in the position for no longer than ten seconds before he pulled himself up and stood, cradling his right shoulder as blood seeped through his fingers. His face was marred with dirt and his hair disheveled. Brindon, on the other hand, was in a no better state.

The twelfth-ranker laid unmoving on the far side, but his breathing movements were visible.

"Can't . . . move . . ." He whispered.

Keelan was dazed as he sauntered over to Brindon. His knees were unsteady and he seemed a bit incoherent to the point the path he was walking was crooked--it was similar to being drunk. He persevered though, no matter how small the gap between the lids of his eyes were, he continued to trek through the grounds until he finally crashed on the spot beside the twelfth, his knees supporting his weight.

"Hey . . . Brindon . . . are you alright? You really got me with that last one. Good job!" He muttered to his friend, both their breathing labored.

"Yes." He responded, staying ever still. "Can't move . . . anymore. Your kick. Dislocated."

"Sorry." Keelan said. "Can you still fight?"

"Thank you." Brindon told him. "Fun. I had fun."

"I agree. Now come on, stand up. We have to end--"

Brindon started snoring a second after as Keelan scooted close to his side and poked his cheek.

"Why are you . . . hey, wake up. Are we done? But we can't be . . . hey, Brindon! You can't even call that a fight! It hasn't even been an hour! Oh, come on! Just when things are getting good . . ."

"He fell asleep?!"

"I can't believe he still wants to fight." Elfre sighed. "Look at the condition they're in! They put up a good show, that's fine already!"

Far up the seats amongst a confused crowd, the Twelve was trying to comprehend what happened that resulted to such turn of events.

Contrary to what Keelan had said, it was more than an hour and ten minutes into their fight. Even if it seemed pretty short to the both of them, the excitement made the time fly.

"Actually, that was pretty short. But good show." Tamara clapped. "GOOD JOB, YOU GUYS!"

"I'm confused. What happened?" Valeriana queried.

"Brindon doesn't have much of a pain tolerance. I think he broke something." Charles said.

"Oh."

"But why is Keelan like that, then?" Elfre asked.

"He is . . ."

They then saw the eleventh-ranker rubbing his stomach as a faint growl reached their ears. Considering they were pretty far up the seats and heard it, it must've been loud.

"He's probably hungry."

"Geez. He totally never changes. "

'The fight is now over! The winner is Keelan von Keiffer de la Kaiven, successfully defending his position as the eleventh!'

-*-

*Breathes out loudly*

AND THE FIRST FIGHT IS OVER! OH MY GOSH THOSE MOVES WERE AWESOME I WAS PRACTICALLY HAVING A PARTY INSIDE MY HEAD!

Thank you so much for reading! I HOPE YOU LIKED IT! Not much hard feelings for this one since their rank did not change. But I pitied Brindon somewhat. -_-